I had the idea for this story back in 2012, as a spin-off from my novel, Freefall.

In Freefall, I’d invented a side character, who was peripheral to the plot, a galactic explorer in the history of the universe I’d created.

He was seen by the people of the future as a hero, a wonderful man. I wondered if that was true, or whether he’d just had a good publicist.

Over time, I thought that it would be fun to write a story about the real Ballantyne Alysom. Where we would discover that he was not necessarily the man that history described.

It took me a while, Survive was originally published in 2019.

I’ve recently changed the cover and, to celebrate, I’ve decided to offer it free for a few days.

Here’s the Blurb.

From the uncharted jungle to the corridors of power, it’s all about surviving.

Ballantyne Alysom is the Galaxy’s most famous explorer, a man loved by billions. Davis Jansen is the cameraman he takes to record his latest mission.

When things go wrong, they are marooned on a savage and uncharted planet.

The survivors need a leader they can rely on. Jansen watches and records it all as Alysom’s true character is revealed. He’s not the genial and fearless explorer that everyone sees.

The Far Explorer is a ship riddled with infighting and jealousy, Alysom is controlling and arrogant, nothing like the man that his reputation suggests.

Jansen’s efforts to expose the truth carry just as much risk as surviving on the planet did.

Maybe more

Find out if enough lies can ever bury the truth in Survive, the Tale of Ballantyne Alysom.

Here’s a short extract,

“I’ve lost most of the controls,” shouted Lev. “I can’t pick a landing spot. Things might be a little rough, hold on.”

We yawed from side to side as the engine power came and went. We crossed the coastline and sank below the level of the mountains, into a sort of valley, shaped like a huge crater. A river flashed under us, and then we were over trees again. In front of us was a hillside, covered in jungle. There was no way we would lift over it. Then the treetops were level with the ship, suddenly they were above us.

We clipped them as Lev tried to hold the Far Explorer in the air. With a crash, a heavy branch smashed through the viewport and we all ducked as it shot across the wheelhouse. It snapped off as we passed the tree it had come from. The impact had swung us around and we smacked into the ground and bounced back into the air.

We were moving backwards now and could only guess at what was approaching. All we could see was a line of destruction where we had been, with a faint haze of smoke from our engines hovering over it all. Time seemed to slow down.

I saw huge multicoloured flowers growing in the upper branches of the trees. Leaves rustled as we passed, was it from our motion or from animals trying to get out of the way? We bounced again and landed further up the slope. Trees fell around us as our speed dropped sharply and every loose thing in the ship shot to the end of the hull. Dust obscured our view.

We swung around again as we hit more tree trunks and rocks, the impacts slowed us down until we were barely moving. We slowly leaned over to one side and finally came to a halt with a shuddering crash. Our momentum and the tilted deck sent us staggering again till we fell, joining together in a pile of bodies against the rear bulkhead.

And a couple of review quotes.

“Survive came alive from the first page, and really took on a life of its own. “

“Author Richard Dee has either done tremendous research into the technicalities of everything related to space exploration, etc., or he’s a dang genius. His writing is superb, his characterizations distinct, and his imagination – well – out of this world.”

” A gripping survival story that transitions into a scary conspiracy thriller. Unmissable!”

Get your copy here.

If you read it, I’d appreciate a review, in the usual places.

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